Troopers are looking for carpool lane violators this week

Troopers from the Washington State Patrol are doing an emphasis patrol this week on carpool violators.

The five-day emphasis focuses on freeways between north Pierce County and south Snohomish County. It includes all of King County.

In 2017, Washington State troopers contacted 11,330 drivers for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) violations – an increase of more than 200 over the previous year. Of those, 428 were repeat offenders.

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HOV violations are one of the most frequent complaints troopers receive. Drivers face $136 if they are caught breaking the law.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, there are several “hot spots” where drivers violate HOV laws. Those include:

• I-5 at the NE 175th Street ramps

• The I-5 express lanes

• I-405 through Downtown Bellevue

• I-405 at Totem Lake

• I-405 between SR 167 and I-90

• SR 509 at First Avenue Bridge

• SR 520 at 84th and 92nd avenues

• SR 520 at Montlake Boulevard East